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Students’ Learning Styles vs. Professors’ Teaching Styles Page 1 of 5 Students’ Learning Styles vs. Professors’ Teaching Styles By Dick Wirz from Inquiry, Volume 9, Number 1, Spring 2004 © Copyright 2004 Virginia Community College System Abstract Wirz provides an interpretation of Felder and Soloman’s Index of Learning Styles. Most professors realize that students receive and process information in different ways. Some professors are even capable of identifying how most students learn. However, do the students themselves know how they learn? Even more important, how can students adjust their learning if a professor’s teaching style does not match their own learning styles? Nature of the Problem In 1988, Richard M. Felder of North Carolina State University and Linda K. Silverman of the Institute for the Study of Advanced Development published the paper Learning and Teaching Styles In Engineering Education. Based on Dr. Silverman’s expertise in educational psychology and Dr. Felder’s in engineering education, they were able to provide insights about learning and teaching to engineering professors. In another study, this one of college science instruction, Sheila Tobias (as cited in Felder, 1993) defines two tiers of students entering college. The first tier consists of students who complete their education earning a science degree; the second includes those who switched to nonscientific fields. The negative features of most introductory science courses include  failing to motivate interest in science by establishing its relevance to the students’ lives and interests;  relegating students to a passive role in their learning;  emphasizing competition for grades instead of cooperative learning; and  concentrating on step-by-step problem solving rather than conceptual understanding (Tobias, 1990). If students’ learning styles are compatible with the teaching style of their instructors, they tend to retain more information, effectively apply it, and have a better attitude toward the subject. However, the points raised by Tobias about the poor quality of introductory college science instruction can be expressed directly as failures to address certain common learning styles. These failures result in the loss of over 200,000 science students each year who switch to other fields after their first college science courses (Felder, 1993). Defining a Student’s Learning Style Felder defined a student’s learning style by the answers to four questions:  What type of information does the student prefer: sensory (sights, sounds, and physical sensations), or intuitive (memories, ideas, and insights)? http://www.vccaedu.org/inquiry/inquiry-spring2004/i-91-wirz.html Students’ Learning Styles vs. Professors’ Teaching Styles Page 2 of 5  How is information received: visual (pictures, diagrams, graphs, and demonstrations), or verbal (sounds, written and spoken words, and formulas)?  How do they process information: actively (through engagement in physical activity or discussion) or reflectively (through introspection)?  How does the student progress toward understanding: sequentially (in a logical progression of small incremental steps), or globally (in large jumps, absorbing material randomly)? It is important to understand that the dimensions of this model are a matter of degree and not either/or categories. A student’s preference for the different styles may be strong, moderate, or mild. It may also change with time, and may vary from one subject or learning environment to another. Determining a Student’s Learning Style The Index of Learning Styles (Felder & Soloman, 1999) is an instrument used to assess preferences on the four dimensions of the learning style model. Dr. Felder and Barbara A. Soloman, also of North Carolina State University, developed the questionnaire in order to determine the magnitudes of students’ learning styles preferences. Based on the answers to a web-based bank of 44 questions, the students will be able to determine where they fall on the learning scale. Once they know their learning style, and the strength of that style, students will understand how they learn best. Matching Learning Style and Teaching Style Most students have a tendency for sensing, visual, and active styles of learning. However, most college courses follow the lecture teaching style (Felder and Soloman, 1999) that heavily favors the small percentage of students who are intuitive, verbal, reflective, and sequential. What happens when students’ learning styles do not match professors’ teaching styles? Being able to answer this question is what differentiates this model from all the others. Dr. Felder and Barbara Soloman (1999), in Learning Styles and Strategies, describe how students can adapt to their instructor’s teaching style. By using some of these suggestions, students can make the most of their learning capabilities in every class they attend. Once students determine their learning styles, they must fully understand the implications in order to best use the information. To make it easier for my students, I presented an interpretation of the strategies in a table format. Sequential learning students apparently find the table a little easier to use than the standard text format presented in Felder and Soloman’s article. The descriptive tables are reproduced here: LEARNING STYLES Descriptive Tables An Interpretation by Dick Wirz of Index of Learning Styles by Richard M. Felder and Barbara A. Soloman, North Carolina State University http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSpage.html ACTIVE and REFLECTIVE LEARNERS: Learning categories: ACTIVE LEARNERS: REFLECTIVE LEARNERS How do they process information? By doing something with the Prefer to think about it for awhile, or information: discussing it, applying it, to write brief summaries about what or explaining to others. was just covered. What might they say about the “Let’s try it out and see how it “Let’s think it through first.” information presented to them? works.” http://www.vccaedu.org/inquiry/inquiry-spring2004/i-91-wirz.html Students’ Learning Styles vs. Professors’ Teaching Styles Page 3 of 5 Do they prefer to work in a group, or Group. Alone or in pairs. alone? How do they handle lectures & Can’t stand to just sit and take Don’t like it much, but will do it if taking notes? notes. necessary. Tendencies? Jump into things prematurely, and Spend too much time reflecting and get into trouble. may never get it done. How can they help themselves Study in groups and try to guess the They don’t just memorize while (when the active learner finds questions to be asked on tests. Find studying, but try to review what they himself in a class that has little time ways to do something with have read, thinking of possible for discussion or problem solving, or information they have received. questions and applications. They when. a reflective learner is in a write short summaries of readings class that allows little time for and class notes in their own words. thinking about new information)? What do they do well? Administration and team-oriented Individual research and design. project work. What is the favored teaching style? Hands-on, labs, and discussions Lectures with summaries. VISUAL and VERBAL LEARNERS: Learning categories: VISUAL LEARNERS VERBAL LEARNERS How is information received? They remember what they see – They remember words – written and pictures, diagrams, charts, films, spoken explanations. demonstrations. Which is the most common type? Most people learn better visually. Most courses are taught verbally. How can they help themselves (for Find diagrams, photos, schematics, They write summaries or outlines of the visual learner when the course and other visual course material. course material in their own words is predominantly verbal, or for the Check on videotapes or CD-ROM and work in groups to gain verbal learner when the course is displays. Prepare a concept map understanding by hearing primarily visual)? listing key points, and connecting classmates’ explanations. They them with lines. Color-code notes learn even more when by repeating with different highlighters so the explanation. everything on one topic is in the same color. What is the favored teaching style? Labs and PowerPoint or Films. Lectures or PowerPoint. SENSING and INTUITIVE LEARNERS: Learning categories: SENSING LEARNERS INTUITIVE LEARNERS What type of information does the They like learning facts, Prefer discovering possibilities and student prefer? observations, and procedures. relationships. How do they like information Favor information that comes Favor information that arises presented to them? through their senses (seeing, internally through memory, hearing, and touching) reflection, and imagination. Preferences? Problem solving by using well- Like variety in their work. Get bored established procedures. Don’t mind with too much detail and repetition. detail work. Don’t like unexpected Don’t mind complexity. twists or complications. Like hands- on lab work and memorizing facts. Better at grasping new concepts. Tendencies? Practical. Careful. Slow. Imaginative. Quick. Careless. Testing? Uncomfortable with written words Don’t mind abstract concepts, and symbols making them slow on theories, and formulas. http://www.vccaedu.org/inquiry/inquiry-spring2004/i-91-wirz.html Students’ Learning Styles vs. Professors’ Teaching Styles Page 4 of 5 tests because they take time to process the information. Get lower grades in lecture courses, especially science courses. Complaints? May complain that a course does Too much memorization and too not have anything to do with the real many facts. world. Resent tests on materials not explicitly covered in class. How can they help themselves Ask the instructor for specific Although most classes are aimed at (when the sensing learner is in a examples of concepts and intuitive learners, too many facts class where most of the material is procedures. Find out how the can be boring. Find a connection to abstract and theoretical, or when concepts apply in practice. Try link the facts to the theories. Or ask the intuitive learner is in a class brainstorming with classmates. the instructor for interpretations. that deals primarily with memorization and rote substitution in formulas)? Testing precautions? May rely too much on memorization Impatient with details and prone to and familiar methods. Need to mistakes in calculations and hands- concentrate on understanding on work. Need to take time to read relationships and innovative the entire question before thinking. answering. Should double-check results. What do they do well? Good experimentalists because Good theoreticians because they they are observant and methodical. are insightful and imaginative. Favored teaching styles? Labs and PowerPoint presentations Lectures with theories and and discussions. concepts. SEQUENTIAL and GLOBAL LEARNERS: Learning categories: SEQUENTIAL LEARNERS GLOBAL LEARNERS How does the student progress Learn in steps, with each step Learn in large jumps, absorbing toward understanding? following logically from the previous material randomly without seeing one. They acquire understanding of connections, then suddenly “getting material in small, connected chunks. it.” Need teachers who can relate past experience and knowledge to present subjects. Tendencies? Follow logical steps in finding Able to solve complex problems solutions. quickly, putting things together in novel ways once they grasp the big picture, but are unable to explain how they did it. Testing? Able to solve individual problems Need to grasp the big picture before although the overall concept eludes they have any chance to understand them. May have difficulty relating the details of the subject. But once specifics to different aspects of the they do, they may see the specifics same subject. better than the sequential learner. How can sequential learners help Fill in gaps by consulting the Before reading a chapter, they skim themselves when the instructor professor or references. Outline through the entire chapter to get an jumps from topic to topic, or skips lecture material in logical order. overview. steps? What if the global learner’s Relate new topics to things they instructor plunges into new topics already know. without relating these to what they already know? What do they do well? Good analysts skilled at solving Good synthesizers, able to draw convergent (single-answer) material from several disciplines to problems. solve problems that could not have been solved with conventional single-discipline approaches. Favored teaching styles? Lectures and PowerPoint that follow Lectures and PowerPoint that relate http://www.vccaedu.org/inquiry/inquiry-spring2004/i-91-wirz.html Students’ Learning Styles vs. Professors’ Teaching Styles Page 5 of 5 logical steps. to previous learning. Should Instructors Change Their Teaching Styles? The following points illustrate some of the concerns instructors have about learning styles and teaching:  Students should be responsible for their own learning.  Most instructors teach as they were taught.  Changing one’s teaching style may not benefit enough students.  Changing one’s teaching style may limit the instructor’s ability to impart all the information that is necessary. These statements are both valid and complex. At the very least, teachers must recognize that there are differences in the ways that students learn. If instructors cannot justify changes in their own teaching styles, they should help their students understand how some learning styles can be adapted to their own teaching styles. This is where the difference between scholarly teaching and the scholarship of learning becomes apparent. References Felder, R.M. (1993). Reaching the second tier: Learning and teaching styles in college science education. Journal of College Science Teaching, 23(5), 286-290. Felder, R.M., Silverman, L.K. (1988). Learning and teaching styles in engineering education. Engineering Education, 78(7), 674-681. Felder, R.M., Soloman, B.A. (1999). Learning styles and strategies. Retrieved July 22, 2002, from http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-pubic/ILSdir/styles.htm Felder, R.M., Soloman, B.A. (1999). Index of learning styles, web version. Retrieved July 22, 2002, from http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSdir/ilsweb.html Tobias, Sheila. (1990). They’re not dumb, they’re different: Stalking the second tier. Tucson, Research Corporation. Dick Wirz was owner and president of a commercial refrigeration company for over 25 years before retiring in 2001. Currently, he is an adjunct faculty member in the Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning program and also teaches Small Business Management at the Woodbridge Campus of Northern Virginia Community College. He is completing requirements for the Certificate in Community College Education at George Mason University. http://www.vccaedu.org/inquiry/inquiry-spring2004/i-91-wirz.html